We've had many conversations about this, but I always like to chime in. The notion of controlling player actions and, well, feelings, is really important to realism, IMHO.
If a given realism setting results in the players using unrealistic behavior, the end result is not realistic.
Real skippers had healthy fears of enemy ASW assets. The detection %s, even AI behaviors could be (someday) coded to 100% perfection, and the end result might well be entirely unrealistic, regardless, due to player foreknowledge and behavior. We all know, for example, that the IJN set their DCs too shallow, and many of us know how deep into the bargain. If we could set them right, I'm not sure I would do it, and I'd likely not do it exactly. Why? Because players would know that they could simply park at a given depth based on the year and be immune from attack. Real skippers took a while to realize that the settings were wrong, but regardless, their LIVES were at stake, so they'd never depend on it in case they get thrown a curve ball.
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